


Consolation Prize

by Alethia



Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris
Genre: Book Spoilers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-05
Updated: 2009-06-05
Packaged: 2018-01-09 17:14:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alethia/pseuds/Alethia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Elves are bad."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Consolation Prize

**Author's Note:**

> Written before _Dead and Gone_ , so no spoilers for that book. Could take place anytime after _Dead to the World_. Original story posted [here](http://alethialia.livejournal.com/372947.html).

Sookie floated, supremely comfortable. She had vague notions that this was unusual given recent events, but she was too relaxed to worry about it all that much.

She snuggled further into a cool embrace, rubbed her cheek against smooth skin, and hmmed, content.

Careful fingers pushed her hair back, then rubbed the muscles at the base of her neck, releasing tension there. She breathed in and moaned as the touch deepened, then relaxed. God, this felt _so good_.

"Eric," she murmured sleepily.

"Sookie," he responded right back.

She stiffened as a bit of wakefulness intruded. Huh. She hadn't consciously thought it was him, but some part of her _knew_. At least, she hoped so. It'd be a bit messed up if this was her reaction to waking in bed with just anyone.

Sookie blinked at Eric, who seemed to be waiting for her to speak, only Sookie found she didn't have much to say. Her mind was curiously fuzzy around the edges, like all thought was being muffled by a giant old quilt.

"Elves are bad," she said, that being the most coherent and concrete thought floating around in her head. Though she didn't quite know _why_ that seemed important.

Eric's laugh rumbled through his chest, right under her ear. "That one was," he said cryptically. "However, our Elvish hostess might not agree with you." His hand slid from the nape of her neck down her back and under her nightgown. She shivered at the casually possessive touch.

Calling it a nightgown might be too kind. Sookie shifted, feeling the stretch and burn of protesting muscles and also feeling the silky slide of the—nightee? negligee? slip?—she wore. She stroked her fingers over it, some kind of super-soft satiny material. And it was _short_.

Short enough that given the way she and Eric were tangled up, the gown was bunched around her waist. The panties weren't hers, either. Everything seemed to be made of that same material: gown, panties, sheets. Even Eric's sleep pants, when she pressed exploratory fingers to his thigh.

Sookie blinked several times until her vision cleared, then met Eric's eyes. He was watching her catalogue everything with great interest. His eyes gleamed.

Heat spread through her with that gaze. Oh, God, they were half-naked, in bed together, _again_. That...didn't tend to end well.

"Where are we?" she asked and looked around. Everything was done in shades of brown and green, like one big ode to earth tones. They were in a simple room—low, comfy-looking couch and table, shut bureau that could hold shelves or drawers, open door leading to what felt like a bathroom, and closer outer door. Oh, and the huge, sinful bed.

"This is Arianna's home. Do you not remember the day you spent recuperating?"

Recuperating? Sookie looked down at herself, noting the flesh-colored bandages on her thigh, shoulder, hip. There was the source of the discomfort when she moved, though she didn't feel it at all while still. And resting on her side, propped up against Eric, she hadn't.

"I was hurt," she said, digesting the news.

Eric looked surprised. "Arianna said you'd forget, but I didn't believe their magic would affect you."

Any other time she'd be freaking out about now, she thought clinically. "Why don't I care about that?"

Eric smiled. His fingers started stroking her back. She definitely cared about _that_. 

"Elvish magic. It has dulled your memories, as well as the pain. Or maybe it dulls all the pain, even the memory of it," he mused. Then he focused again. "No matter. You'll remember it all, eventually."

"I seem pretty sure that Elves are bad." Though, there was no urgency to that thought, really.

Eric smiled, but this one was _feral_. "The ones who had you, yes. They are no longer a problem."

Eric always did love a good fight. Hopefully he'd gotten some blood out of the deal. Looking at the color in his skin, that seemed likely.

Sookie got a little sidetracked by the acres and acres of skin, then. She had the impression that he'd had a shirt at one time—remembered sliding her hands up the silky material—but that was long gone. He always had liked stripping down and rubbing up against her, too.

Well, hey, after a thousand years if you couldn't enjoy the simple pleasures in life...

"Sookie?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you well?" His hand covered hers on his chest. She shivered and not in a bad way.

"Just peachy. But—I'm hurt, right? And I feel like I'm on really great drugs, only without the nasty fuzzy-brain or heaviness." _Really_ great drugs. This was _amazing_.

Eric chuckled. "They use magic in the bandages. It affects both body and mind." He paused in a tentative kind of way. "I would like to...heal your wounds, if you would be willing. Then no need for the bandages."

Sookie knew from his tone that something else was at play in that offer, but she felt nothing but concern and affection and, okay, not a little bit of lust, but it was _Eric_ and they were in bed together. Not to mention she was right there with him.

The point being, Eric wasn't trying to deceive her about anything and really just wanted to do as he said.

"Heal away," she said breezily.

Something hot flashed in his eyes, but then he moved, shifted down so his face was level with her shoulder. And breasts, her mind supplied, which was so very _not_ helpful.

Sookie propped her head on her hand and watched him peel off the bandages. She felt no resistance or sting from her skin and there was no tape to be seen. So how did they stick?

Then she caught sight of her shoulder and—

"...oh," she breathed, dull impact of the shock hitting low in her belly. It looked like—deep gouges, fingernails, maybe? But long ones, talons or something. Like someone had gripped her shoulder too hard, sunk their nails deep. The wounds were open and an angry sort of red. Now that the bandages were off, they started to ooze blood.

Eric looked up. "Sookie," he said, firm, demanding her attention.

She met his eyes, after much effort. "That looks bad," she tried.

"Yes. The Elvish magic would heal you eventually, but I can do it much faster. Do you consent?"

Sookie nodded, still sure on that, at least.

Something flitted through his eyes again and then he bent to her shoulder—and _licked_ , licked a broad swath over all the wounds.

Sookie gasped softly. She didn't know what she'd expected, but it hadn't been _that_.

Eric did it again—gathering up all the blood?—and then he started a series of smaller licks over each wound. That couldn't be it, right? Vampire saliva had clotting properties, but it couldn't be better than Elvish magic, could it?

Eric moved on to the next little gouge and he wasn't just licking, he was—kind of pressing his tongue into the wound. Trying to get all the blood he could? That didn't seem right, either, but Sookie was noticing another response that was far more pressing.

Heat curled in her belly, that aching, desperate _want_ she'd gotten used to after her break-up with Bill. Her body wanted nothing more than to surge against Eric. Or even better, shove him back and climb on top of him.

She resisted with some effort.

Her shoulder tingled at his attentions. Eric moved smoothly on. He could no doubt smell her desire—feel it, too—but he made no comment. Shockingly.

Sookie looked down to check his progress and saw he was on the last wound—on her shoulder, anyway. The others looked just as red and bloody as before, so she wasn't quite sure what he thought he'd—

She gasped again as his tongue licked up over all the wounds once more. When he pulled back they were...gone?

Sookie focused. No, not gone, but fading fast—little red blotches that poured off heat.

Eric smirked, pleased with his work. Then he moved down. He bypassed her hip and went for her thigh and the larger bandages there. He peeled them off and Sookie glimpsed deep, arching gashes before she looked away. She didn't need to see the damage, thanks.

Instead she concentrated on the feel of Eric repairing said damage. With his _tongue_. As his fingers massaged lower on her thigh, rhythmic, and thoroughly arousing.

Sookie was breathing hard by the time he moved up to her hip and it wasn't from the pain. Okay, maybe a little was from the pain, but those dull twinges were easily pushed to the side. Especially when she saw his fangs were out.

Of _course_ they were. He was feeding...right?

Eric traced careful fingers over her panties, just near her hip, and Sookie couldn't help her moan. Lust flared through the bond, clear as a bell. Eric met her eyes and for a moment she thought he'd push her back, cover her body with his like they _both_ wanted—

And then his control snapped back into place and he bent his head again.

Sookie moaned anyway. That blond head below waist-level recalled some of her fondest, most pleasurable memories.

Sure, maybe _now_ he was healing her, but that wasn't what her body expected. Or wanted. Okay, _all_ it wanted.

But Eric kept strictly to the plan and licked at her wounds. His hands didn't even wander, but for the thumb stroking maddeningly over her hipbone. He probably meant to focus all her attention on that little strip of skin and damn him, it worked.

Then he pulled away from her with a sense of finality and Sookie didn't even check to see how her skin looked, she just pulled him to her by his hair and latched onto his mouth. She flicked her tongue against his fangs and he groaned.

"Sookie," he protested.

" _Please_." It was enough.

She felt the moment he gave in—when he went from holding himself off of her to covering her body, touching her everywhere. She could feel him hard between them. Her insides clenched at the thought.

Eric sucked on her tongue as his hands pushed her gown ever higher. She half sat up so he could pull it off. Then his mouth was off worshipping her breasts while Sookie got her legs around him. She dug her heels into his gorgeous butt and rubbed herself against him, shameless. 

Eric broke away from her nipple and moaned. "That's quite a reaction to healing," he muttered.

Jesus Christ, Shepherd of Judea, she felt like she was about to go up in flames. "Inside me. Please—I need—please," she panted as she twisted against him.

Eric groaned again and tugged at her thighs. Sookie didn't move. "You'll have to let go, my lover, so I can divest you of these and ravish you properly." His fingers stroked her panties, right where she was wet and wanting.

Sookie whined, but unlocked her legs with some effort. Eric made quick work of her panties and pushed his sleep pants off, too. She'd have admired him properly, but she was too busy pulling him against her, skin touching everywhere.

"Yes," she hissed when she felt him press two fingers deep into her.

Eric nipped at her breast again and then started to scoot down.

She grabbed his hair to stop him. "Uh-uh."

He looked uncomprehending. "Uh-uh?" he repeated, a touch of disbelief in his voice. His fingers moved inside her.

"Maybe later," she offered.

His eyes were dark. "I want to taste you." Eric _loved_ doing just that and normally she was all for it, but she needed him inside her _now_.

"Eric, _please_ ," she said again, sounding pathetic as a broken record, even to herself. 

Maybe he felt some of her desperation because he relented, moved up and took her mouth again. His fingers left her and she mewled instinctively, but then she felt him lining himself up and her protest died in her throat.

Eric pulled back and held her gaze, like she knew he would. "My lover," he said, recalling the first time they ever did this, something soft in his voice.

Then he pressed into her, a slow glide that had her arching and choking out a broken, "Yes!"

Eric kissed her again, pulled out slightly, and then sank deep. She felt the fire of it from her lips to her toes and every point in between. Then he did it again. And again. 

Heat coiled in her belly, but it was too _slow_. She wanted him to pound into her, scald her, fuck her until they both burst into flames.

Sookie wrapped her legs around him and dug her heels in again, trying to get more. She clutched and pulled at his shoulders, seeking the same.

Eric thrust into her again—hard—and Sookie kinda squeaked in delight. She lost track of things for a bit and when she came back to herself he'd pinned both her hands to the bed. Their fingers were intertwined.

She gripped his hands so tight her own started to hurt.

"You seem rather impatient, my lover," he murmured, kissing her mouth softly.

"I wouldn't be if someone would get on with the show."

Eric thrust into her then, that slow unstoppable push and pull that he'd established as the pace of things this time around. Sookie had to close her eyes at the wash of pleasure—hers and the echoes of his she could feel in her head.

"Perhaps we can do that some other time, but I want to enjoy this," he said. "You'll enjoy it, too." He had that look in his eyes, the one that said to trust him to take care of her...and though it killed her, she knew when to relent. So she did.

Eric took his time. He kissed her mouth and looked in her eyes, keeping a steady rhythm that totally unraveled her. Her legs squeezed around him, her hands clutched at his, she made noise, beyond control. Throughout he maintained a steely kind of composure, one that would have concerned her if she couldn't feel the soul-deep satisfaction he was getting from this. From watching her fall apart completely.

Only when her thighs started shaking did he speed his thrusts. Pleasure spiraled outwards and when she felt her climax approaching, Sookie threw back her head, bared her neck to him. 

He didn't bite, though. She met his eyes, surprised, just before her orgasm burned through her. It scorched a path clear through all thought and turned her into a shaking, ecstatic mess. And just when she felt it start to ebb, that was when Eric sank his fangs into her, igniting another spark that sent her careening off into the oblivion of pleasure so complete it felt like the fusing of two souls.

Sookie could feel Eric, in her mind, in the thralls of the same kind of molten ecstasy.

It was a long time before she came back to herself. 

When she did it was with gasping breath, trembling muscles, and the niggling feeling that something big had just happened.

"Oh, my God," she whispered. "Oh, my God."

Eric looked just as shaken, if not more. He wasn't sweating or trembling or taking God's name in vain...but Sookie still got the impression he was doing the vamp equivalent, if only in his head.

He leaned down to kiss her and she met him eagerly. They devoured each other like they hadn't just had mind-blowing sex. Their hands were still clasped. He was still _inside her_. 

Sookie slumped back when Eric released her mouth. Her hands hurt. She turned to figure out why...and sucked in a breath.

"You're bleeding," she said, horrified that she'd done that, made those little crescent-shaped cuts in his hands.

Eric pulled one hand away and looked at it dispassionately. "It will heal." His voice sounded rough and used. It made Sookie _want_. 

She used her free hand to bring his knuckles to her lips, then kissed over the pain she'd caused.

Eric made a small sound, eyes focused on her lips, so Sookie lapped at one of the little cuts, sucked just a bit.

He growled and jerked his hand up. He licked all the blood off his knuckles, then bent and pressed his mouth to hers, sharing blood and taste and _want_.

This was so, so far beyond what she'd done with Bill, what she'd ever thought she'd do. But there was a small corner of her mind, alive and humming at the sight of Eric licking the back of his other hand and bringing his mouth to hers again. 

She felt him start to get hard again, so she shifted deliberately, urged him on.

She deserved to indulge in this feeling. She deserved to have something good. For as long as it'd last.

***

Fin.


End file.
